Sewing machine



March 4, 1941. o, R HMS 2,233,411

SEWING MACHINE Filed April 5, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 4, 1941 R HAAS 2,2 33;411

SEWING MACHINE Filed April 3, 19:59 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 -4 o I 15L 22 March 4, 1941. Q R HAAS 2,233,411

sswme momma Filed April 5, 1939 f 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Qfiivenfor March 4, 1941 Q HAAS 2,233,411

SEWING MACHINE Filed April 5, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Mar. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PTENT OFFICE.

SEWING MACHINE Jersey Application April 3, 1939, Serial No. 265,621

22 Claims.

The present invention relates to wax thread sewing machines, and more particularly to improvements in a machine arranged to sew a welt having a feathered edge to the marginal portions of an outsole before it is attached to a shoe upper. An example of a machine of this type is disclosed in an application for U. S. Letters Patent of Hopkins and Bertrand, Serial No. 187,198, filed January 27, 1938.

In previous machines for sewing a welt, which is unreduced at either edge, to the marginal portions of a shoe outsole, it is ordinary practice to direct the welt towards the point of operation of the machine, and through a recess in the work q support, the welt, upon reaching the upper surface of the work support, being guided by flanges at either side so as to prevent lateral displacement of the welt from the edge of the outsole. However, in order to cause the welt to lie evenly about the curved edges of an outsole, it is desirable to employ a welt having a feathered edge produced by skiving the welt to a uniformly tapering thickness from one edge which is left unreduced to the other which is left extremely thin and weak so that it may stretch or be compressed as the curvature demands. Due to the weakness of the feathered edge, it is diflicult to guide the welt towards the point of operation of the machine accurately with the unreduced edge of the O welt and the edge of the outsole in registration,

particularly after reaching the upper surface of the worksupport. In the machine of the application above referred to, the work support is inclined at a substantial angle to the horizontal so that, as the awl of the machine starts to penetrate the welt while being led along the work support, there is a tendency to drive the welt away from the sole edge, adding further to the difiiculty of directing the welt.

Still further difficulties in directing the welt into accurate registration with the edge of a shoe outsole result from the varying curvatures particularly along the concave edges of the outsole and from the usual practice of operators to guide the outsole with a so-called leading on effect to cause the feeding action of the machine to assist in holding the outsole in proper relation in the machine. The effect of leading on while guiding the outsole through the machine is to swing the outsole about the back gage so that as the outsole is fed, it will be forced with increasing pressure against the back gage, thus relieving in a large degree the effort required by the operator. In swinging the outsole both while leading on and while rounding a concave edge of the outsole, there is a movement of the outsole along the work support transversely of the seam line. This movement may bring the welt along with the outsole so as to draw it away from the back gage. As a result, when the point of operation of the machine is reached, the welt will be sewed to the outsole while the edges are out of registration.

It is an object of the present invention to avoid the difficulties above referred to and to provide a novel and improved machine for sewing a welt to an outsole with their edges in more nearly accurate and uniform registration than heretofore, particularly when the welt has one of its edges reduced to a feather.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved welt retrieving device which will be both simple in construction and effective in operation either in the type of machine above particularly referred to or when applied in connection with any other type of welt sewing or attaching machine.

With these and other objects in View, a feature of the present invention contemplates the provision in a machine for sewing a welt having feathered and unreduced edges to the marginal portions of an unattached shoe outsole clamped between a work support and presser-foot and guided by a back gage acting on the ,sole edge opposite the point of operation of the sewing needle, of welt guiding means at the side of the outsole with the work support having welt edge engaging flanges for directing the welt towards the point of operation of the machine with the unreduced welt edge sufficiently out of line with the edge of the outsole to cause the back gage to bring said unreduced edge of the welt and the sole edge accurately into registration by the action of the back gage. As hereinafter described, the welt edge engaging flanges of the welt guiding means extend sufiiciently close to the back gage to insure that the welt will be pressed against the back gage by reason of the natural resiliency of the welt. In connection with this feature of the invention, it is desirable to employ a welt guide having a space between its flanges 4 of slightly narrower width than the width of the feathered welt so that the feathered edge will be curled sufficiently to press the unreduced edge yieldingly against the opposite guide flange, thus causing the welt to be directed more accurately towards the needle than if held loosely within the guide.

While the features thus referred to are of ad vantage when sewing a welt with feathered edge, in certain of its aspects, the invention is applicable to machines for sewing any common form of. welt, whether provided with a feathered edge or not. Accordingly, it has been found that when a sewing machine of the clamp feed type, as disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent to Gouldbourn et al. No. 2,056,670, of October 6, 1936, is employed, the feeding action of the machine assists in pressing the clamped welt against the back gage, thus providing a further insurance against improper registration with the sole edge.

A still further feature of the invention relates to the provision of a welt retriever comprising a pair of separable rolls between which the welt passes and means for actuating the rolls to grip and to rotate in a direction to retract the welt after being drawn from the welt guide with a completed sole and severed close to the last stitch. In order to prevent the severed end of welt from being retracted completely from the welt guide, due to the momentum of the moving welt while being retracted or from accidental contact with the welt, in the illustrated form of this feature, means is provided for supporting the welt and holding it in loose confinement between the retriever and the welt guide.

These and other features of the invention will be clearly understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a view from theright hand side of the head of a machine embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a view in front elevation of a portion of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the work table for the machine; Figure 4 is a sectional View, taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a View in front elevation of the work table on a still further enlarged scale; Figure 6 is an en. larged sectional view of a portion of the work table including the welt guide; Figure 7 is a sectional detail view of a portion of the welt retriever employed in the machine; Figure 8 is a front view ,of the welt retriever, partly broken away and in section, indicating the operation while sewing a seam; Figure 9 is a side view of the welt retriever illustrated in Figure 8; Figure 10 is a front view of the ,welt retriever indicating the operation at the end of a seam after the weft hasbeen withdrawn with a completed sole; Figure 11 is a side view of the retriever illustrating the parts in the positions indicated in Figure 10; Figure 12 is a View in side elevation of the machine indicating the manner in whichthe welt is attached to an outsole; Figure 13 is a detail plan view showing the effect caused by aligning the weltguide of the machine with the back gage; and Figure 14 is a detail plan view illustrating the arrangement of the welt guide and back gage in the machine of the present invention.

The machine illustrated is a hook needle lockstitch sewing machine, similar except as hereinafter described, to those disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent of Gouldbourn et a1. Nos. 2,049,369 dated July 28, 1936, and 2,056,670 dated October 6. 1936. For actuating the usual stitch-forming devices, including'a curved hook needle 2, a curved awl 4, a shuttle 6, and a take-up 8, there is provided a sewing shaft I0 between which and the stitchforming devices there are suitable crank and cam actuated connections. The sewing shaft I0 is rotated and brought to rest by driving and stopping mechanisms having a driving pulley I 2 at one end of the shaft ID, the rotation of which is controlled by a treadle connected to the lower end of a rod l4 pivoted to an arm i6 which, when oscillated, causes the sewing shaft Hi to be the machine and, through an arm 28 secured to the shaft and a link 30 connected to the arm, causes the presser-foot to be raised suiiiciently to remove the work from the machine.

The work support I 8 has a work supporting surface 32 inclined at an angle with the horizontal and at approximately 70 degrees with the needle and awl paths, so as to cause the stitches of a seam to be inserted closer to the edge along the welt than along the tread surfaces-of the outsole,

as in the machine of the application above referred to, the inclination of the work support being advantageous when sewing a welt to the marginal portions of an outsole before attaching the outsole to the upper ofa shoe, as fully explainedin said application; .In this kind of sewing operation, it also is desirable to avoid placing the locks formed by the inter-engaging portions of needle and locking threadsof the lockstitch seam in the joint between the welt and the sole where they will be subject to abrasion and shearing action by sliding movement between the parts as the shoe, to which the outsole is attached, when flexed during wear. To avoid placing the locks in the joint between the welt and the sole, the welt is led through a recess 33 (see Fig. 6) in the work support which, as in the machine of the application, is'at the opposite side of the sole from the shuttle so thatthe locking thread will be drawn by each ,needle'loop against the tread surface of the sole rather than against work support, there is a tendency for the awl, as I it first engages the welt to drive it forwardly away from the edge of the outsole which is ordinarily pressed against the back gage of the machine, indicated at 34, to cause the stitches to be inserted at'a uniform distance from the edge of the outsole throughout the length of the seam. Other factors which render it difficult to direct one edge of the welt accurately in registration with the edge of the outsole include the continuallyvarying curvatures of the sole edge at successive points of operation along the seam line and thepractice in presenting the sole to the machine to direct the sole with the edge opposite the 'poin'tof operation at an angle with the line of feed, thus causing the feeding action of the machine to assist in holding the sole against the back gage. When sewing about concave curvatures, as well as when directing the edgelopposite the point of needle operation at an angle with the line of feed, the frictional eifects of the sole on the-welt in all instances tend to swing the welt away from the :back gage.

The back gage 34 is adjustably mounted to slide forwardly and rearwardly in the machine frame to change the distance of the seam line from the edge of the sole through connections with a manually operable handle 35 disclosed more clearly in Patent No. 2,056,670 and has a work engaging surface of narrower width in the direction of feed than in said patent. The work engaging end of the present back gage is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, the central axis of which coincides with the plane of the needle soas to engage the sole edge opposite the point of needle operation.

If an arrangement of welt guide is employed, as indicated in Fig. 13, in which a welt 31 is directed with one edge in line with the work engaging surface of the back gage, there is a tendency, due to the factors enumerated above, particularly along the concave curvatures of a sole edge 38 for the welt to be drawn forwardly, as indicated in the figure, so that the parts are sewed together with the edges out of registry. To counteract the tendency of the welt to be drawn forwardly away from the edge of the outsole and to insure that the welt will be pressed against the back gage positively at all times during sewing, the welt guide, indicated at 40, of the machine embodying the invention is provided with welt edge engaging flanges extending as close as possible to the point of needle operation for directing one edge of the welt out of line in a rearward direction with respect to the back gage, the natural resiliency of the welt pressing the edge of the welt against the back gage. In so doing, as the welt is carried towards the back gage, there is a definite bulge 42 (see Fig. 14) in the welt 31 projecting beyond the edge of the outsole 38. As the point of operation is reached, the back gage forces the welt to slide transversely of the seam line beneath the outsole, bringing the welt and sole edges into accurate registration in spite of the tendency of the sole as it swings about the back gage to draw the welt forwardly by frictional engagement therewith.

The welt 31 is the same as that described in the application referred to, being formed from a leather strip with a narrow finished grain surface 44 along one edge of unreduced thickness, and a flesh surface 46 skived at an angle with a uniformly tapering thickness from the grain surface 44 to a feather of no substantial thickness at the other edge. Preferably, the sole edge is also reduced to supplement the angle formed by the feathered edge of the welt, thus causing the outer surfaces of the welt at the flesh side of the sole to lie approximately level with the sole surface on the work engaging and supporting surface of the work support when the parts are being sewn together. When the parts are shaped in this manner, the skived surface 46 of the welt acts as an effective seat for cementing the upper to the outsole.

However, the feathered edge of the welt is so weakened when skived in this manner that it is diflicult to guide the welt effectively in a guide of the same width as the welt. The spacing between the fianges of the guide 45), therefore, is made narrower than the width of the welt and when the welt is threaded through the guide, the feathered edge of the welt is curled against one of the guide flanges (see Fig. 6) causing the unreduced welt edge tobe pressed yieldingly against the guide flange opposite to the curled edge.-

Referring to the Figs. 3 to 7 inclusive, the welt guide 40 is in the form of a rectangular trough secured within the recess 33 in the work table. The recess 33 is inclined throughout its length, forming an angle with the work supporting surface of the table and joining an opening cut entirely through the under surface of the table along a central part of the recess. The guide trough is provided with a slotted lug 48 extending through the recess below the work support and engaging an adjusting screw 50 threaded in an enlargement on the under surface of the work support. The screw 50 is provided with collars engaging the sides of the lug where the set screw passes through the slot in the lug 48. The upper end of the guide is cut off and finished with a surface extending flush with the work supporting surface of the work support close to the point of operation of the needle so as to provide as much support as possible to the welt and the work around the area operated upon by the presserfoot. To hold the guide in place, the recess 33 extends laterally to receive a cover plate 52, having an inclined under-surface, secured to the work table by means of screws 54 with the upper surface of the plate also flush with the work engaging and supporting surface of the work support. The welt guide may readily be removed or replaced by this construction whenever wear or change in welt size makes it necessary, the position of the guide being readily adjustable through rotation of the adjusting screw 50.

The welt guide, being mounted in the work support, partakes of the feeding movements of the work support so that during work feed, while the sole and welt are clamped, the pressure of the bulge 42 in the welt edge against the back gage increases and, during back feeding movement of the work support, the guide slides along the welt while the outsole and welt are held stationary by the awl 4 which at this time engages the outsole and welt.

The welt retriever, in which is embodied the present invention, is best shown in Figs. '7 to 11 inclusive, and comprises a pair of separable rolls 45 54 and 56 between which the welt strip 3'! passes. The roll 54 is rotatably mounted on a stud 58 secured in a bracket 60 and has formed about its periphery a series of teeth 62 having edges facing in a direction to assist in retracting the severed end of the welt 31. The welt passes from a suitable supply (not shown) through a U-shaped guide block 64, between the rolls 54, 56 and through a perforated guide block 66 secured to the bracket 60. The roll 56 rotates on a shouldered screw 68 threaded into a yoke 10 having gudgeon pins 12 arranged at right angles to the screw 68 and rotatable in a forked arm of a three-armed lever 14 so as to permit the face of the roll 56 to assume the proper angle when engaging the welt 31. The lever 14 is secured to a shaft 16 rotatable in lugs on the bracket 60 and to draw the roll 56 towards the roll 54, the lever 14 has connected to it one end of a coil spring 18, the other end of which is connected to a pin on the bracket 60. The tension of the spring I8 thus actuates the roll 56 to grip the welt against the roll 54, causing the rolls to rotate when the welt is withdrawn from the work support. The

movement of the welt from the work support ordinarily occurs after the seam in an outsole is completed and the machine brought to rest, the usual practice being to withdraw the welt with the completed outsole and to sever the welt close to the last stitch of the seam. As soon as the welt is severed, it is immediately retracted by the welt retriever.

To retract the welt after being withdrawn through the guide on the work support and severed close to the last stitch of a completed outsole, the roll 54 at one side is recessed to accommodate a flat coil spring 32 (see Fig. '7), one end of which is secured to the roll and the other end to a sleeve 84 surrounding the stud 58. When the welt is withdrawn, the teeth 62 on theroll 54 furnish sufficient traction between the welt and roll to cause the roll to rotate and the spring 82 to be wound up. When the welt is severed, the reverse action takes place. To adjust the tension on the spring 82, the sleeve 84 may be rotated in the bracket 68, the sleeve being held in adjusted position by a flat-sided bolt 86 having a wedging surface to grip the sleeve 84, and the end of the sleeve is provided with openings 88 into which a suitable tool may be inserted. To enclose the moving parts of the retriever, the bracket 68 has bolted to it an angular cover plate 89.

When the machine is started, a connectionwith the driving and stopping mechanisms causes the rolls 54, 56 to be separated so that the welt may be drawn freely toward the sewing point.

The connections with the driving and stopping mechanism include an arm 98 loose on the shaft 26 at the rear of the machine, and an adjustable link 82 connected between the arm 98 and an arm of the lever I4. When the machine is started, the shaft 28 rocks in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, causing a set screw 94 threaded in a lug formed'on a collar 96, which in turn is secured to the shaft, to be brought against a projecting portion of the arm 98. The link 92 and the lever I4 then are actuated in a direction to separate theroll 56 from the roll 54. When the machine comes to rest at the end of a seam, the connections thus described are actuated to permit the roll 58 to grip the welt against the roll 54.

To cause the severed end of the welt to be brought into a position overlapping the point of operations of the needle and awl, so that a new seam may be started Without further adjustment of the welt, there is secured to one side'of the roll 54 a stop plate 98 and a disk I88, the plate having an abutment cooperating with a latchshaped arm of a lever I82. While the machine is running, the abutment on plate 98 is held against an adjustable stop screw I83 threaded in the bracket 68. When the welt is withdrawn after the machine stops, the abutment rotates beneath the latch arm causing it to be raised against the tension of a spring I85 stretched between the arm and the pin 88 and allowing the arm to move towards the disk I88. Further rotation of the roll 54 may bring the abutment into some such position, as illustrated in Fig.10.' As soon as the welt is severed, it will be retracted until the abutment of the stop plate 98 is brought against the latch arm of lever I82, as indicated in dot-and-dash lines of Fig. 10, theposition at which the roll is held by the latch lever being the proper one to allow the severed end of welt to overlap the sewing point. I

To reset the roll 54, when the machine is again started and after the rolls 54, 56 are separated, the latch lever I82 is raised from the roll. To this end, an arm on the lever I4 is brought against an adjustable screw I84 in the latch lever I82,

causing the roll 54 to be freed for rotation to its original starting position of Fig. 8.

' The bracket 68 is mounted on an elongated arm I06 secured to the machine frame spaced from, the welt guide 48 at the right side of the sewing point and below the level of the work support. To prevent the welt from being retracted from the welt guide when the Welt retriever operates, the welt is enclosed between the retriever and the guide within a fiat supporting tube I88 where it is surrounded loosely Without frictional confinement. The tube I88 is fitted at its lower end in an enlargement of the perforation in the guide block 56. At the upper, end, the tube is supported on an adjustable fixture II8 by means of which the position of the tube may be changed to cause the opening in the tube to line up with the welt guide 48, the upper end being spaced from the welt guide to cl ar the guide during feeding movements.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, and a particular embodiment of the invention having been specifically described, what is claimed is:

1. A machine for sewing a welt strip having feathered and unreduced edges to the marginal portion of an unattached shoe sole with the un-. reduced edge of the welt strip in registration with the edge of the sole having, in combination, a needle, a work support at one side 01' the sole being operated upon, a presser foot movable towards and from the work support at the other side of the sole to clamp the sole, a back gage for guiding that portion only of the sole opposite the point of operationof the needle, and a welt guide at the side of the sole with the work support arranged in advance of the point of needle operation to direct the welt strip towards the point of operation of the needle with the unreduced edge of the strip while in the guide extending sufiiciently out of line with the back gage to cause the strip to be pressed against the back gage-as the sole is fed.

2. A machine for sewing a Welt strip having feathered and unreduced edges to the marginal portion of an unattached shoe sole with the unreduced edge of the welt strip in registration with the edge of the sole having, in combination, a needle, a work support, a presser foot movable towards and from the work support to clamp the sole, a back gage for guiding that portion only of the sole opposite the point of operation'of the needle, and a welt guide arranged in advance of the point of needle operation to direct the welt strip towards the point of operation of the needle with the unreduced edge of the strip between the guide and the point of needle operation projecting beyond the edge of the sole to cause the natural resiliency of the strip to press the unreduced edge of the strip against the back gage as the sole is fed. 1 3. A machine for sewing a welt strip having feathered and unreduced edges to the marginal portion of an unattached shoe sole with the unreduced edge of the welt strip in registration with the edge of the sole having, in combination, a needle, a presser foot at one side of the sole being operated upon, a work support at the other side of the sole, a back gage for guiding that portion of the sole opposite the point of operation of the needle, the welt guide arranged in advance of the point of needle operation with relation to the back gage to direct the welt strip towards the point of operation of the needle with extending sufliciently out of line with the edge of the sole opposite the point of operation of the needle to cause the natural resiliency of the strip to press the unreduced edge against the back gage as the sole is fed, and means for adjusting the back gage andwelt guide separately transversely of the line of feed.

4. A machine for sewing a welt strip having feathered and unreduced edges to the marginal portion of a work piece with the unreduced edge in registration with the edge of the work piece having, in combination, a needle, a presser foot, a work support, a back gage for guiding that portion of the work piece opposite the point of operation of the needle and a welt guide having welt edge engaging flanges for directing the welt strip in advance of the point of operation of the needle with the unre-duced edge of the welt strip while in the guide extending out of line with the edge of the work piece to cause the unreduced edge of the strip to be pressed against the back gage as the work piece is fed, the space between the flanges of said welt guide being narrower than the width of the welt strip .to cause the feathered edge to curl and to press the unreduced welt edge 'yieldingly against the opposite guide flange. I

5. A machine for sewing a welt strip having feathered and unreduced edges to the marginal portion of an unattached shoe sole with the unreduced edge of the welt strip in registration with the edge of the sole having, in combination, a needle, a work support having a flat work engaging surface, a presser foot movable towards and from the work support to clamp the sole, a back gage for guiding that portion of the sole opposite the point of operation of the needle, and means beneath the workengaging surface of the work support for guiding and supporting the welt as it approaches the point of operation of the needle including a replaceable member having a surface extending close to the point of needle operation and flush with the work engaging surfaceof the work support.

6. A machine for sewing a welt strip to the marginal portion of a shoe sole with the edges of the strip and sole being operated upon in registration having, in combination, a needle, a presser foot at one side of the sole, a work support at the other side of the sole having a flat work-engaging surface and a recess in the work engaging surface, a back gage for guiding that portion ofthe sole opposite the point of operation of the needle, a channel-shaped welt guide mounted in the recess of the work support entirely beneath the work engaging surface of the work support, and means for removably retaining the welt guide in the recess.

7. A machine for sewing a weltstrip to the marginal portion of a shoe sole with the edges of the strip and sole being operated upon in registration having, in combination, a needle, a

presser foot at one-side of the sole, a work support at the other side of the sole having a recess in its work supporting surface, a back gage for guiding that portion of the sole opposite the point of operation of theneedle, a channel-shaped welt guide mounted in the recess of the work support,

and means for retaining the guide on the work support including a removable cover plate fitting the recess with its exposed face flush with the work supporting surface of thework support.

8. A machine for sewing a welt strip to the marginal portion of a shoe sole with the edges of the strip and sole being operated upon in registration having, in combination, a needle, a

presser foot at one side of the sole, a work support at the other side of the sole having a recess in its work supporting surface, a back gage for guiding that portion of the sole opposite the point of operation of the needle, a channelshaped welt guide mounted in the recess of the work support having a lug extending below the work support, and means for adjusting the welt guide transversely of the line of feed in the work support including a set screw threaded in the Work support and provided with collars engaging the lug of the Welt guide.

9. A machine for sewing a welt strip to the marginal portion of a shoe sole with the edges of the strip and sole being operated upon in registration having, in combination, a needle, a presser-foot at one side of the sole, a work support at the other side of the sole having a recess in its work supporting surface, a back gage for guiding that portion of the sole opposite the point of operation of the needle, a channelshaped welt guide mounted in the recess of the work support having a slotted lug extending below the work support, means for adjusting the welt guide in the Work support including a set screw in the work support passing through the slot in the lug of the welt guide and having collars engaging the sides of the lug, and a removable cover plate flush with the work supporting surface of the work support for holding the welt guide from displacement from the work support.

10. A machine for sewing -a welt strip to the marginal portion of a work piece with adjacent edges in registration having, in combination, a work support and a presser-foot acting to clamp and feed the work piece, work piercing instruments including a needle and an awl for penetrating and holding the work piece during back feeding movement of the work support and presser-foot, and a welt guide mounted in the work support par-taking of the feeding movements of the work support to move with the welt strip towards the point of operation of the needle, and to slide along the strip while held by one of the work piercing instruments during back ieeding movement of the work support.

11. A machine for sewing a welt strip to the marginal portions of a work piece with adjacent edges in registration having, in combination, a work support and a presser foot acting to clamp and release the work piece, a carriage on which the work support and presser-foot are mounted for movement along the line of feed to feed the work piece while clamped, work piercing instruments including a needle and an awl for penetrating and holding the work piece during the back feeding movement of the work support and presser-foot, a fixed back gage for guiding that portion of the work piece opposite the point of operation of the needle, and a welt guide having welt engaging flanges mounted in the work support partaking of the movements of the work support to press the Welt against the back gage with one edge in accurate registration with the edge of the work piece during feeding movement and to move along the strip while held .by one of the work piercing instruments during back feeding movement of the work support.

12. A lockstitch machine for sewing a Welt strip to the marginal portion of an unattached outsole having, in combination, a hook needle and a shuttle at one side of the work, a work piercing awl and a welt guide at the other side of the work, a back gauge for guiding the edges of the welt welt strip is withdrawn edge at the tread surface of the outsole, said means including a welt guide having welt edge engaging flanges for directing the welt strip towards the point of operation of the needle and awl with'the back gage guided edge of the welt strip out of line with the back gage to cause the natural resiliency of the strip to counteract thetendency. of the awl to displace the welt strip from the back gage.

13. A machine'for sewing a welt strip to the marginal portions of a work piece having, in combination, stitch-forming devices, a guide for directing the welt strip in proper relation to the point of operation of the stitch-forming devices and a welt retriever comprising a pair of separable rolls between which the welt passes, and means for actuating the rolls to grip the welt strip between them and to rotate in a direction to retract the strip after being Withdrawn from the guide with a completed work piece and severed close to the last stitch.

14. A machine for sewing a welt strip to the marginal portions of a work piece having, in combination, stitch-forming devices, a guide for directingthe welt strip in proper relation to the point of operation of the stitch-forming devices and a welt retriever comprising a pair of rolls between which the welt passes, and spring means for rotating one of the rolls in a direction to retract the welt strip after being withdrawn from the guide with a completed work piece.

15. A machinefor sewing a welt strip to the marginal portions of a work piece having, in combination, stitch-forming devices, driving and stopping mechanisms, a guide for directing a welt strip in proper relation to the point of operation of the stitch-forming devices, and a welt retriever comprising a, pair of separable rolls between which the welt strip passes, and a connection between the driving and stopping mechanisms and rolls for actuating the rolls to grip the welt strip between them as the machine is brought to rest, and spring means arranged to be tensioned when the welt strip is being withdrawn at the end of a seam with a completed work piece and to rotate the rolls in a direction to retract the welt strip after being severed close to the last stitch of the seam.

16. A machine for sewing a welt strip to the marginal portions of a work piece having, in combination, stitch-forming devices, driving and stopping mechanisms, a guide for directing a welt strip in proper relation to the point of operation of the stitch-forming devices, a welt retriever comprising a pair of separable rolls between which the welt strip passes, and a connection between the driving and stopping mechanisms and rolls for actuating the rolls to grip the welt strip between them as the machine is brought to rest, 1

to be tensioned when the at the end of a seam with a completed work piece, and to rotate the rolls in spring means arranged a direction to retract the welt strip after being severed close to the last stitch of the seam, and

latch for stoppingrotation of the 'rolls by the spring means to prevent the severed welt end from being retracted beyond the point of opera tion of the stitch-forming devices.

17. A machine forsewing a welt strip'to the marginal portions of a work piece having,'in combination, stitch-forming devices, driving and stopping mechanisms, a guide for directing a welt strip in proper'relation to the point of operation of the stitch-forming devices, and a welt-re triever comprising a pair of separablerollsbetween which the welt strip passes,-anda connec-' tion between the driving andstopping mecha nisms and rolls for actuating the rolls to grip" the welt strip between them as the machine is brought to rest, spring means arranged to'be ten sioned'when the welt strip is withdrawn at the end of a seam with a completed-work piece, and to rotatethe rolls in adirectiori to retract the welt strip after being severed close tothe last stitch of the seam, a latch for stopping rotation of the rolls by the spring means to preventthe severed welt end from being retracted beyond the point of operation of the'stitch-forming devices,

it ineffective after the rolls are separated; N H

18. A machine for sewing aweltstrip-|to the marginal portions of a work piece having, in combination, stitch-forming devices, driving'arid stopping mechanisms, a guide for directing a welt strip in proper relation to the point-of operation and connections for actuating the latch to render of the stitch-forming devices,-and a welt retriever comprising a pair of separable rolls between which the welt strip passes, and a connection between the driving and stopping mechanisms and rolls for actuating the rolls to gripthe weltstrip between them asthe machine is'brought'to rest,ispring means arranged to be tensioned when the welt strip is withdrawn atthe endofa seam with a completed work piece, and to rotate the rolls in a direction to retract the welt strip afterbeing severed close to the laststitchof the seam, and means for adjusting the tension of the spring means.

19. A machine; for sewing a welt strip to the marginal portions of a work piece-having, in combination, stitch-forming devices, a guide for directing the welt strip in proper relation to the point of operation of the stitch-forming devices and a welt retriever comprising a pair of separable rolls between which the weltpasses, aroll actuating lever for causing the rolls to grip and release the welt, means for holding one of the rolls in a starting position, a latch member for holding saidroll in'another position after the welt is repoint of operation of the stitch-forming devices and a welt retriever comprising a pair of separable rolls between which the welt passes, a roll actuating lever for causing the rollsto' grip and release 1 the welt, spring means for rotating one of said rolls in a direction to retract the Welt, an adjustable set screw, an abutment on said one'rollcooperating with set screw -fqr holding said one roll in a starting position, a latch member for holding said one roll inanother position after the welt is retracted, and a. connection between the lever and the latch member to cause the said one roll to 7 5 be reset after the lever is actuated to release the welt.

21. A machine for sewing a welt strip to the margina1 portions of a work piece having, in combinati'on, stitch-forming devices, a guide for directing the welt strip in proper relation to the point of operation of the stitch-forming devices, welt controlling means spaced from the guide for causing the welt strip after being withdrawn from the guide with a completed work piece and severed close to the last stitch to be retracted into a position overlapping the point of operation of the stitch-forming devices, and means for supporting the welt strip between the controlling means and the guide to prevent retraction of the severed welt end from the guide.

22. A machine for sewing a welt strip to the marginal portions of a work piec having, in combination, stitch-forming devices, a guide for directing the welt strip in proper relation to the point of operation of the stitch-forming devices, welt controlling means spaced from the guide for causing the welt strip after being withdrawn from the guide with a completed work piece and severed close to the last stitch to be retracted into a position overlapping the point of operation of the stitch forming devices, and a supporting tube enclosing the welt strip between the controlling means and the guide to prevent displacement of the welt end after being retracted by the welt controlling means.

OTTO R. HAAS. 

